Closed captioning (CC) information in digital broadcasting systems in usually carried as data information. There are, however, time constraints on when the CC information needs to be displayed or integrated with the video on the screen. In principle, this is similar to the audio track that is maintained synchronous with a video track using a variety of time stamping mechanisms, and so forth. In a broadcast system, CC information for all channels are carried in the transponder or channel and then tuned in similar to audio. In a digital network such as a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) network, no mechanisms exist to treat the CC information in a manner similar to audio.
Accordingly, it would be desirable and highly advantageous to have a method and apparatus for managing CC information in digital networks.